Carbon Footprinting in Supply Chains

Abstract

This chapter presents an overview of the methods and challenges behind carbon footprinting at the supply chain level. We start by providing some information about the scientific background on climate change. This information is necessary to clarify the overall methodology behind carbon footprinting measurement. We also briefly review the main motivations for carbon footprinting. Then we propose an overview of the main methods available to measure a carbon footprint at the supply chain level. We propose to organize these methods in function of the quantity of information required, and we highlight a trade-off between the scope of measurement chosen and the accuracy of the estimation made. We continue by emphasizing the importance of supply chain (Scope 3) emissions in many supply chains. Finally, the chapter also discusses some challenges related to supply chain carbon footprinting. We specifically consider how to get information in practice, what level of accuracy is needed and how to extend the horizons beyond carbon.